Benjamin Buchholz

Description:

After studying medicine in America for thirteen years, Abu Saheeh travels back to his native Baghdad in order to start over and relinquish his past. His new life is a lot to get used to, but the mobile phone shack he manages seems to be doing well, as does his relationship with a spirited young Iranian girl, Layla, who visits him daily with questions and comments about American culture. As their innocent friendship grows, tension mounts in the world around them and Abu must wrestle with his past and the painful memories that accompany it. Will Abu be able to ignore what he has left behind and regain control of his new beginning? Or will his past take over, forcing him to endanger everything around him?

Review:

Benjamin Buchholz's One Hundred and One Nights is a novel full of vivid detail, intrigue, and heartache. It starts off slow, but after a couple of chapters I started to get a true sense of Abu's character and his shady history, as well as Layla's spirit and fervor for America's western views. The characters are well-developed and realistic, and the dialogue is written beautifully. The whole time I was reading I couldn't help but wonder how the characters would interact with and change each other. There's a sense that Abu's decisions are ultimately going to lead him to a dark place, but Buchholz mastery of words kept me guessing at each turn until the last shocking page. The story-line impressed me the most, but I will not give away any spoilers because the readers need to experience every plot twist for themselves. The imagery is breathtaking, but also devastating; it will affect readers at their core. Recommended for adults. I will definitely be waiting for Benjamin Buchholz's next novel.

Rating: On the Run (4/5)

*** I received this book from the publisher (Little, Brown and Co.) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.… (plus d'informations)

I want to first start off by saying a few things about this book. First of all, it is not what I expected- at all. Second, there are so many little parts that give away secrets to the main plot that I don't want to go into a ton of detail. The story itself seemed like it was going to be one of those long, drawn out, never-gets-to-the-point kind of stories. I was happily mistaken by this idea!

One Hundred and One Nights starts off slow, but the pace really does pick up quite quickly. Abu Saheeh returns to a small town in Iraq after over a decade of living in America. There are obvious parts of his American life that he just can not leave behind, even though he tries his best to become a simple mobile phone salesman in Safwan, Iraq. Everything from his American life suddenly comes back though when he meets a girl, Layla.

Layla is a street rat, but she has taken an interest in our mobile phone salesman and visits him nightly. She talks of American things; songs of aliens, dancing like Brittany Spears, and other ideas that would be considered vulgar in her culture. Abu Saheeh takes a very dear liking to this girl and she not only becomes important to him emotionally, but mentally as well.

Through out the book Abu Saheeh's life as an American is shown through flashbacks at the ends of the chapters. It is very interesting to see how his present day life is related to these flashbacks. About halfway through the book you start to understand a bit more about what exactly is going on plot wise. Some of the twists and turns in the plot were very unexpected, but very welcome!

I loved this book even though I thought it was going to be slow moving. Once the pace picked up I just couldn't stop reading it. The characters were so well developed I actually was having dreams with them!

Buchholz did a great job showing us war in Iraq from a different perspective than what we see on the news. He really tapped into the viewpoints of the Iraqi people and showed a side to their life that is never really discussed.… (plus d'informations)

A Hundred and One Nights is a fearless and seductive piece of ventriloquism by a storyteller in full command of his craft. With spare, lyrical prose, Benjamin Buchholz draws us into the mind of an Iraqi doctor haunted by the violence he has witnessed. In search of healing, Abu Saheeh moves from Baghdad to a small town in southern Iraq. But even as he begins to forge a new life and a friendship with an enchanting young girl named Layla, the horrors of his past rear up, threatening to destroy all he holds dear. Buchholz’s first novel is a spike in the heart, a powerful testimony to the insanity of war and the undeniable demands of love.… (plus d'informations)

What lies between reality and fiction? Buchholz takes you there where Layla entertains.

One Hundred and One Nights is one of those books that just stays with the reader long after the book has been read. Abu Saheeh has been to America on a visa to study as a pre-med student but only for a short time and now he is living in the small town of Safwan. War looms in the background with the American convoys passing back and forth on the outskirts of the town near where Abu Saheeh sells his mobile phones from his little shack. Buchholz the author of this book goes back and forth among Abu's previous life before he came to Safwan and his life now in Safwan in each chapter. In some chapters Abu's memories linger for a moment in time on his life as a child, his time spent with his family including his playmate, and future wife to be, Nadia. Entwined throughout this tale, which I found hard to put down, is Layla. Layla is a child who appears to Abu almost everyday at his little mobile store shack. Layla brings tales of America to Abu in her own innocent ways, later she brings gifts. Or does she? Later in the novel Layla enters Abu's dreams and even his waking dreams while he is intoxicated on alcohol. Layla eventually lays between the layers of dreaming and waking for Abu so much so that he cannot tell if she has been part of his imagination the whole time or she is real. I found Layla to be intriguing and such an interesting character with her funny stories and things she does to grab the attention of Abu. Layla is also a character that lies between truth and fiction, not just for Abu, but also for the reader. Buchholz has used this character very cleverly and creatively to grab at the heartstrings, leaving the reader fascinated. I could never seem to get enough of her and even in her ghostly fashion one wonders what may happen to her. You could never know by reading this book that this is Buchholz's first novel as his writing transcends space and time.… (plus d'informations)